Listening and Learning: Ghana’s Battle against Organised Crime
Listening and Learning at the Local Level: Lessons for Programme Design
Building on our efforts to counter transnational and serious organised crimes (TSOC), ARK recently sent a team to Ghana to explore how civil society organisations (CSOs) are tackling the issue. Our mission was clear: understand local strategies, listen, prioritise local expertise and build on best practice.
Ghana's Battle Against Organised Crime
Ghana, with its educated young people and nascent ties to Nigerian crime groups, has become a hub for organised crime, particularly cybercrime. Ghanaian civil society has taken great strides to counter this, conducting research, running media campaigns, and strengthening investigative journalism to drive policy changes and raise public awareness.
Challenges in International Partnerships
Over the course of several candid conversations over a five-day period, we discovered that Ghanaian CSOs have often felt sidelined by their international partners. Research is sometimes misused, and the local voices the international community is here to support go unheard in project design. Local experts shared their frustrations about international staff taking credit for their findings, without fully grasping the nuances. Despite the sector's focus on monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) and the importance of what is known as AAP (Accountability to Affected Populations), in reality many in our sector risk instrumentalising local partners.
A Different Approach
We believe in empowering local partners and holding ourselves accountable to them and our donors. While this process is undoubtedly more labour-intensive, it's the only way to build the lasting relationships that drive real change. In Accra, our team convened platforms for Ghanaian CSOs and local experts to exchange thoughts and opinions. We captured ideas, reflected them back, and distilled recommendations into key findings. The workshops explored ways to integrate local CSOs into steering boards and develop governance mechanisms to hold international partners accountable. The concept of pairing local and international TSOC experts emerged as a means to blend local experience with international expertise, fostering sustainable change.
Beyond CSOs: Inclusive Design
To gain a holistic understanding, ARK engaged with a broader range of Ghanian stakeholders, policy organs, media outlets, mining companies, and private finance and telecoms firms. Each of these stakeholders plays a crucial role in countering TSOC. This inclusive approach identified exciting public-private partnership opportunities we look forward to developing.
Looking Ahead
ARK's visit to Ghana highlighted a key lesson for international development organisations: the importance of localised, inclusive, and collaborative design. In a resource-constrained international assistance environment, localisation also offers greater value for money and increases the chances of impact being sustained. As the old adage goes ‘no ownership, no commitment’. By empowering local expertise and being serious about accountability, we can drive meaningful change and tackle complex transnational issues more effectively (and cheaply).
